1973 Profiles: Pete Gogolak and Tom Blanchard

PETE GOGOLAK

Place Kicker

No. 3

Cornell

"Gogolak finished the season as the third most accurate field goal kicker in the NFC. He booted home 67% of his shots and kicked eight of eight inside the 20; eight of 10 inside the 30; none of three inside the 40; five of eight inside the 50; and none of two beyond the 50. His longest kick was for 49 yards.

The original soccer-style kicker from Hungary, Gogolak doesn't like his holder to be the No. 1 quarterback.

'If the holder is the No. 1 quarterback, he's still thinking about what he should have done on that last third down situation to keep the drive going and it's got to affect his concentration.' His holder is punter Tom Blanchard.

Gogolak had a weak right leg in 1971, he thinks, because he did too much long-distance running. He now concentrates on sprints and weight lifting."

-John Devaney, The Complete Handbook of Pro Football, 1973 Edition

"Pete broke the Giants' all-time scoring mark in 1972. His 97 points gave him a total of 519 as a Giants, breaking Frank Gifford's former record of 484."

-1973 Topps No. 368

TOM BLANCHARD

Punter-Holder-Quarterback

No. 15

Oregon

"The fourth best punter in the NFC last season, averaging 42.7 yards a punt. Blanchard hung out some 47 punts for a total of 2,006 yards. A 12th round choice in the 1971 draft, he was a quarterback and punter at Oregon.

'I was shocked I was drafted at all, but I knew they were drafting me as a punter, even though I averaged only 40 yards a kick in college. Still, I haven't given up the idea of being a QB. That's what I want the most- to be a quarterback in the pros. I throw in practice to Pete Gogolak. He has nothing much to do, either.' Tom has worked on increasing the 'hang time' of his punts. The ideal hang time for a 40-yard kick is 4.5 seconds.

'I've been dropping the ball too low. You hold your hands up and drop it higher and you get more height on your kick.'"

-John Devaney, The Complete Handbook of Pro Football, 1973 Edition

"The NFC's fourth leading punter in 1972, Tom was the Giants' 12th draft pick in 1971. Named as the punter of the NFC's All-Rookie Team, he completed a pass off a fake punt."

-1973 Topps No. 319